Duke Energy, a company that enjoys what is a near-monopoly on energy in North Carolina, is the target of a new campaign from Consumers' Research for its pursuit of woke ESG — environmental, social and governance — policies that have come at the expense of the company's customers in the form of higher energy costs amid already rampant inflation.
You see, while pursuing "net-zero" emissions goals, Duke Energy has moved away from reliable and affordable sources of energy to more costly and less-reliable wind and solar sources, leading the company to repeatedly — and predictably — raise rates for customers while warning them of more cost increases on the horizon.
Rather than pursuing cheaper forms of energy to help ease costs that already soared as a result of President Joe Biden and the Democrats' work to kill off American energy independence, Duke Energy is apparently choosing ESG over its customers. Meanwhile, as something of a warped reward for executives, making energy more expensive for customers means Duke Energy's leadership is taking home more money.
Now, Consumers' Research is stepping in on behalf of Duke's customers with an advertising campaign to hold Duke Energy accountable and a letter from Consumers' Research's Executive Director Will Hild to the North Carolina Utilities Commission to further ring the alarm and demand the entity protect Duke customers.
.@DukeEnergy has *admitted* (and even bragged about) the fact that they are increasing prices on American families to fund their ESG To-Do List. pic.twitter.com/3vwO2uFJcv
— Will Hild (@WillHild) August 24, 2023
"Duke Energy has a complete monopoly on the energy markets of North Carolina," the letter notes. "The state’s energy consumers are without recourse to avoid the rate increases that Duke demands" and "Duke is on track to increase North Carolina power bills by nearly 20% over the next three years. Included in these rate increases is compensation to Duke for billions in failed projects, subsidies for 'pilot programs' that discriminate against everyday North Carolinians in favor of electric vehicle owners, and an ever-expanding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) department and programs that do nothing to deliver reliable service to their customers," Hild explains.
While making customers pay more for less-reliable energy, "Duke brags openly about setting racial and gender quotas for their workforce" to "increase diversity across all workforce segments" by seeking to hire individuals based on their gender and skin color, Hild emphasizes in the letter.
"Duke’s obsession with viewing employees in terms of race and gender and setting specific quotas for hiring is an obvious affront to the civil rights of Americans, a distraction from their vital job of keeping the grid powered, and will likely lead to lawsuits, especially in view of the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding racial discrimination," the letter warns of the outsourced DEI programs which come "at great expense to consultancies" that ultimately see North Carolinians foot the bill.
Beyond the DEI quotas for hiring, Hild points out that Duke Energy sponsored a "Youth Pride Carnival" in 2022 which included a "King and Queen Drag Show" that "according to the event page, was intended for children as young as 12."
"If Duke Energy executives want to engage in the pushing of transgender ideology on 6th graders, they should do it on their own time and dime," Hild says. "Consumers should not be forced to subsidize the targeting of their own children with transgender indoctrination."
On the "environmental" side of ESG, the letter from Hild says that "perhaps the most abusive use of Duke's resources has been their political advocacy of anti-consumer 'net-zero' policies" that amount to a "clear conflict of interest" for the company to "extend company resources supporting the enactment of policies that increase costs for Duke at the same time they ask those costs to be passed on to their customers in the form of rate hikes."
"Duke has admitted as much in their rate increase applications to the commission, noting that the 'scale and complexity of a clean energy transition imposes a special obligation on The Company' that justifies massive future rate increases," Hild states. "Maybe this is why Duke CEO Lynn Good called net zero Duke’s 'entire business strategy.'"
While Duke might try to blame rate hikes on such laws, Consumers' Research says not so fast. "Duke openly brags about lobbying for the legislation" that it uses to raise rates. This "charade," as the letter calls it, means "Duke customers are being compelled to subsidize the passage of legislation that will in turn raise costs for their households. This is disgusting and cruel," Hild emphasizes. At the same time Duke's customers are facing more financial hardship, the company's CEO has seen her compensation increase "nearly 50% from $14.5 million to $21.3 million."
“As the nation’s oldest consumer protection organization, Consumers’ Research’s purpose is to educate consumers on issues that impact them and amplify their voice in the marketplace. It is for this reason that we implore the commission to put an end to the abuse of North Carolina consumers by Duke Energy," says Hild. "Duke’s operations have become a laundry list of expensive boondoggles and distractions. When they aren’t pushing double-digit rate increases onto customers, they are busy wasting their time and customers’ money pushing political initiatives (some targeting children) and massive pay increases for their executive suite," Hild underscores.
Consumers' Research has also launched a new website — RebukeDuke.com — which calls Duke Energy out for its actions as part of the group's latest campaign. It is also putting two mobile billboards on the street this week, one outside of the company's headquarters in Charlotte and another near a hotel in California where a Duke Energy board member is set to speak about the "impact of ESG on business success." In addition, digital ads revealing Duke Energy's actions are set to target the company's customers and employees.
🚨 @DukeEnergy is putting their ESG To-Do List ahead of providing reliable, affordable energy for American families.
— Will Hild (@WillHild) August 24, 2023
Yet states continue to grant them monopoly power — leaving consumers with no choice but to pay more...
It's not right. Learn more at: https://t.co/rhQwotKCrQ pic.twitter.com/x6CNDczOiQ
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